JOLIET, IL — A new sit-down Joliet restaurant on the city’s near side called Pollo Loco Latino Bar-Restaurant is hoping to attract customers by offering unique cuisine at 751 N. Hickory St. Their menu focuses on authentic dishes that mostly originate in South America including:
The Bandeja Paisa, a ribeye steak, chorizo, Avocado, fried egg, Arepa, sweet plantain and crispy pork rinds. The Lomo Saltedo, a sliced rib eye steak sautéed with peppers, onions, tomato and cilantro served with fries and rice. And, Pollo Loco, a half rotisserie chicken with rice, beans, Avocado salad and Maduros (also known as fried sweet plantains).
Four years and two months after “Coming Soon” signs were draped over Joliet’s former El Primo restaurant at the corner of Hickory and Ruby Streets, Pollo Loco Latino has opened, after finding new owners to take it over.
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Elizabeth Dominguez, who came to Joliet three years ago from New York, said she acquired ownership of the Joliet restaurant venture, and she recruited her brother Jose Dominguez, who worked in New York, to be her new chef and run the Joliet kitchen for Pollo Loco Latino Bar-Restaurant.
The brother and sister, along with Elizabeth’s husband, Gonzalo Aguirre, are now running Joliet’s newest bar and restaurant, which has an address of 751 N. Hickory St.
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Jose Dominguez has cooked at several different New York restaurants, including Italian, Greek and Spanish cuisine, his sister said.
“He knows everything, and I was lucky he actually moved here to help me out,” she said. “A lot of people, what they find here is mostly Mexican restaurants, so we wanted to open something different in this area, Latin.”
Elizabeth Dominguez said many of her brother’s menu entrées are focused on South American cuisine, Latin meals that originate across Venezuela, Peru and Colombia. He is also serving up several different kinds of soups throughout the week, she said.
“It’s like a Latin style restaurant with a Colombia menu as well as food from Peru and Venezuela,” Elizabeth Dominguez explained.
Pollo Loco Latino is now open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the corner of Ruby and Hickory in Joliet’s Cunningham Neighborhood Area.
The restaurant has ample indoor seating and in the coming weeks, its bar will be open.
Pollo Loco has received approval from the Joliet City Council for a liquor license. The owners are now awaiting final approval from the state of Illinois liquor commission.
When their bar opens, Pollo Loco will offer beers imported from South America, including Peru and Colombia, Dominguez said. The bar will stay open until 1 or 2 a.m.
Meanwhile, Pollo Loco has enlisted Grub Hub, Uber Eats and Door Dash for delivery services in addition to offering takeout ordering. The restaurant phone is 815-630-2214.
A copy of the menu is included in the photos at the bottom of this story.
This marks the family’s second business venture in the Joliet area. Three years ago, Elizabeth Dominguez said, her family opened the Old Pueblo Grocery store at 2222 Plainfield Road, near the Joey’s Red Hots hot dog stand.
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